


Cracks in the World

by scatteredlogic



Category: X-Men (Movieverse)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Ficlet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2005-06-10
Updated: 2005-06-10
Packaged: 2017-10-12 10:49:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/124089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scatteredlogic/pseuds/scatteredlogic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the wake of Jean's death, Rogue is determined to hold her world together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cracks in the World

**Author's Note:**

> This is strictly movie based and AU. I apologize in advance for any damage I do to the X-Men universe. Written for Edanielrya, who requested "Logan/Rogue, with a hopeful ending. Doesn't have to be happy, but I could use some light at the end of the tunnel."

The first month after Jean's death, Rogue went to find Logan each night. He obviously didn't want to talk and so they didn't. She sat near him, silently reading or filling in a crossword puzzle while he stared at the television and drank beer.

"Logan needs me right now," Rogue whispered, and Bobby understood and didn't press her to spend time with him. All wasn't right with the world, but he knew that Rogue was determined to patch it back together with little more than spit and glue.

~*~

The second month after Jean's death, Rogue tried talking to Logan. He rarely answered, but he listened. She'd fill the silence with chatter about what was going on in the mansion, about how Kitty wanted to attend MIT, and that Jubilee had painted her fingernails bright green, and how Kurt was teaching Ororo to speak German.

Bobby's smile had started to become strained, and he began asking when things would go back to normal.

Rogue shook her head and said, "I don't know, but Logan needs me. You understand, don't you?"

Bobby hesitated, but he nodded, and Rogue went back to trying to repair the cracks in the world.

~*~

The third month after Jean's death, Rogue pulled out a deck of cards and challenged Logan to a game of gin rummy. He blinked at her in surprise, but picked up his cards and played. He beat her five games out of six that first night, but she teasingly promised to get revenge. When she did get that revenge, she was thrilled that Logan smiled at her briefly.

Rogue went to tell Bobby, but he was busy training and didn't have time to talk. She shrugged it off, simply happy that a few of the patches seemed to be holding and that the world was slowly starting to right itself once again.

~*~

The fourth month after Jean's death, Rogue woke up to find an envelope slipped under her door. It contained Logan's dog tags and a note that read _I'll come back for these. Take care of yourself._

Rogue was in tears when she found Bobby, but she was stunned by his remote attitude. When Bobby flatly told her that he was glad that Logan was gone, Rogue was furious. She'd thought that Bobby understood.

Bobby answered that he understood things just fine, and he walked away without a backward glance.

As everything splintered again, Rogue realized that the only world she'd managed to patch together was Logan's.

~*~

One year after Jean's death, Logan returned to the mansion. He found that Rogue had graduated from Ororo's high school classes and had joined the team. He also found that Rogue and Bobby were coolly polite to each another but nothing more, and Logan wondered what had shattered that relationship.

He tried talking to Rogue, but somewhere along the way she'd developed a smart mouth and a tough façade. Logan knew that there had been some difficult missions while he was gone, but that didn't explain why Rogue had become so brittle.

He told himself that Rogue was a little girl who'd been through hard times and some changes were to be expected, but a small voice in the back of his mind pointed out that the little girl who stowed away in his trailer was long gone, replaced by a grown woman. Logan resolutely pushed that voice away; that was something he didn't need to think about.

Sitting alone one night, staring unseeing at the night sky, Logan admitted to himself that he had failed Rogue, but he didn't know how to fix things. She hadn't offered the dog tags back, though, and he hadn't asked her for them. There was hope there. If only he could figure out how to repair the damage.

He tried just sitting with her, giving her the opportunity to talk to him, but Rogue remained silent. Then Logan tried talking to her. Not about anything in particular, just rambling tales of where he'd been and what he'd seen. Rogue rarely answered, but he felt encouraged when she tilted her head and listened.

Finally, Logan broke out a deck of cards and dealt a hand of gin rummy. She hesitated, but picked up her cards, and they began to play. When he told Rogue that he was leaving soon, her eyes went blank for an instant and flashed in rage. She swept the cards from the table with one gloved hand and stood there glaring at him.

"Why tell me?" she spat out. "Just leave like you did before." Rogue ripped the dog tags from around her neck and tossed them at his feet. "Jean died and you left. It wasn't hard to figure out that she was the only one who was important to you. Why should you make an announcement now?"

Rogue was headed toward the door when he caught her. He grabbed her arms, swinging her around to face him, and pushed her against the wall.

"Jean's dead and I came back," he snapped. "What does that tell you?"

He took a step closer and leaned into Rogue to hold her in place. For a split second, she went utterly still, and then he felt her shiver. The awareness of her that had been hiding in the back of his mind broke free, and the world shuddered as everything between them shifted.

"When I leave, I want you to come with me," he said.

"I'm not a little girl anymore, Logan." Rogue was still trying to be defiant, but here was a plaintive note in her voice now.

In answer, he deliberately pressed against her more fully. "I'm aware of that."

He drew back slightly and Rogue searched his eyes for a long moment before she finally said, "All right. I'll go with you."

Logan nodded once, satisfied. All still wasn't right with the world, but for the time being, the patches were holding.

**The End**


End file.
